False Criticisms of Large Churches

I attend a smaller SBC church. Up until recently, I was pastoring a smaller membership church. Throughout my time in ministry, though, I’ve found myself being an apologist for the large churches in the areas where I serve. In Northwest Indiana, where I live now, there are a number of large, bible-believing, gospel-preaching churches of different denominations that are healthy and impacting the community in various ways. Most of them, too, are “kingdom” minded and there is a great unity among the evangelical community here. Still, my ministry has been in small churches and to members of small churches.

Often, in conversations with believers, the ministry of these larger churches comes up. Usually, the assessment is negative and I find myself defending these churches that are doing the Lord’s work and are led by faithful leaders. Here are a few of the things I hear that I often try to correct.

1. Large churches are built around the personality of the preacher. Granted, that’s partly true. So are small churches. Churches are led by pastors and those pastors have a great influence on the direction of the church and are often loved by its members. That’s as true in a church of 70 as it is in a church of 2000. Churches of every size see a decline in attendance when a preacher moves on (or even goes on vacation).

As for celebrity pastors? Sure, there are some churches who are “cult of personality” churches that are built around the super-stardom of their preacher – but those are the minority. Most large churches are led by less than well-known preachers who aren’t published and not on the conference circuit. In our area, for example, many people could name all of the 5-6 large/mega churches in the area, but could only name the pastor of one — and that’s the prosperity heresy one that I wouldn’t send anyone to. The other churches are solid, bible-believing, gospel-driven churches doing kingdom work, and without a pastor with huge name recognition.

2. Large churches are where you go to hide. Two problems with this argument: One, most large churches have multiple avenues for people to get involved and they are constantly pursuing people to engage. In some churches, it’s difficult to hide because they are so proactive in greeting, engaging, inviting, and encouraging people to connect and get involved. Large churches often have a culture that expects participation so that it’s actually harder to hide there. (That’s also one of the reasons many of them have grown to the size they are).

Two, it assumes you cannot hide in a small church. That’s simply not true. Most small churches have a number of unengaged, Sunday morning only attendees that arrive just before the service, sit in the back, and leave immediately after the last prayer. The number of people in the building does not keep a person that wants to hide from hiding.

3. You can’t know everybody in a large church. That’s true, but you don’t know everybody in your small church. Whenever a church member makes that remark to me, I have asked them to look around and tell me if they could name everyone in the room. I have never found a person who could say “yes.” Even if I ever did find one, they would not know every person on an intimate level. Sure, large churches have to work hard to build community, but so do small churches. In many cases, the small group systems in a larger church give far greater chance for intimacy and true community.

4. Large churches are just “stealing sheep” not growing by conversion. On what basis do you assume that? First off, the numbers don’t support that claim and every church is different. Many (if not most) mega churches have grown large by both conversion and transfer growth. When people do transfer in, they often do so because they want to be part of a vibrant, healthy, growing church. Which leads to the second point: transfer growth occurs in churches of all sizes. If you compare the growth of small churches to large churches in the ratios of transfer to conversion growth, there is virtually no statistical difference (the only kinds of churches that seem to have a leg up in conversion growth are new church plants).

I understand the frustrations of small churches when you can’t provide all the programs that some families are looking for and that the big church down the street can. But in my experience, if your small church is healthy and vibrant, you won’t lose people and you will grow. So do what you can do and do it well and don’t begrudge the big church down the street.

5. There’s a lot of politics in those large churches. Have you been to a Baptist business meeting? I’ve seen as much politics in a small church over who serves in the kitchen than anything I’ve heard happening in a large church. The point is, churches are full of people with sin natures and that is not exclusive to churches of a particular size. While large church problems have the potential to be wider known, problems can exist in any church. In every church, you will have to deal with personality differences, interpersonal conflict, and individual sin and handle those issues in a biblical way. I’ve seen no difference from one size church to another, only a matter of scale. Until the Lord returns, large and small churches alike must strive to live out a gospel-culture and pursue true biblical unity.

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Are there real problems in large churches? Most assuredly so. But there are plenty of things for me to focus on in my church to worry about the one on down the road. I’m open to criticism when it is warranted and there are times when we can give helpful critique to others’ methods, models, and strategies. What’s not helpful, though, is the culture of criticism that assumes the worst of others and perpetuates myths that simply aren’t true.

I write this post because I’d like to see Christians more supportive of one another and rejoicing wherever the Lord is working. I want our church to be successful and I want the mega-church across town (and across the Convention) to thrive as well. I’m grateful for those large and small churches who work together and encourage one another in the work of reaching a community. The truth is, as a small-church guy, I love big churches. I love all churches that are doing gospel ministry and striving to faithfully lift up Christ.

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About Todd Benkert

Todd Benkert is pastor of Oak Creek Community Church (SBC) in Mishawaka, Indiana. He is passionate about building unity in the body of Christ, racial reconciliation, foster care and adoption, and ministry to those who have experienced significant childhood trauma. He is an advocate for North American church planting and for local church participation in global missions. WebsiteTwitter

I grew up in a small Baptist church that grew to medium then back to small when the deacons started firing pastors every four years. I know, I was one of the deacons. I was also too young (25) and brash to be a deacon. I left to go to a larger church (I even moved away from the local area!) to avoid another pastor firing.

Two years later the large church fired their pastor of 3 years. By this time I was married, so as we moved to roughly the same area we both grew up in, we started attending an SBC mega church. Plenty of programs, and plenty of community impact! What was even better was there was no hint of problems. The church transitioned away (planned) from the long term pastor who had built the ministry to the next pastor and he continued to expand the impact of the church.

Meanwhile, we had moved a little farther away (18 minutes) and had to drive by many churches to get to the mega. We decided to join the ministry team of a smaller local (5 minutes) church. Within a year I was a bi-vocational pastor there. Three years later a leadership crisis (a bully senior pastor) split that now medium sized church. After a couple of years of attempting to work with this man, for the spiritual health of my family I resigned and we moved back to the mega.

Guess what? The mega had made some big changes to expand their impact even more. The leadership behaved like small church pastors, really knowing people and speaking into their lives. They had committed to developing leaders and linking with ministries outside of church governance. My bible study fellowship is like a small church in and of itself, but I get to share in peoples lives.

Long comment to say this. I have experienced many more problems in small churches than I ever have in the mega. I have also had many of the same ministry opportunities in the mega that I experienced in the small churches.

That’s not to say that megas are better expressions of the local assembly we see in scripture. I’m just affirming that they are no worse than small churches.

I find it a bit ironic that, when a church does the right things and God blesses the ministry, lots of other folks, pastors included, will begin finding fault with the ministry. I know we’ve heard a lot about that, referring to a church that started here 17 years ago, and is now by far the biggest church in the state. And maybe the nation.

Methinks that sort of folk would have found fault with Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost, that triggered 3,000 people joining their ranks that day!

August 25, 2017 5:37 pm

Jim Poulos

A core Biblical principle should always be at the center for Church growth as it was in the beginning of the Church at Pentecost, that is the messages proclaimed. This may be taken for granted but here is passages that should keep it at the center.

1Cor. 3:5 ¶ Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one?
1Cor. 3:6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.
1Cor. 3:7 So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.

The point is, ‘God gives the increase’ when? When it is His seed that’s planted and when His water is given to that seed. When that happens ‘God gives the increase.’

It just makes sense, that if in any Church, if it is not God’s seed or not God’s water God won’t ‘give the increase.’ There maybe increase but not from God.

Knowing His seed and His water is central work in the work of any Church.

I’d generally call any church over 200 in regular attendance to be large, 400+ to be very large, 600+ to be too big to function as a true local congregation. Above that, I sorta zone out.

I’d sorta target the ideal size for a local body at 75-150, large enough to be functional in a meaningful way, small enough to intimately minister to all of the body.

August 29, 2017 12:04 pm

Bill Mac

I agree, these are truly not great reasons to criticize mega churches, but I truly do believe mega churches aren’t the ideal expression of the NT church. That’s my opinion. I do think no. 1 is the best criticism out of the 4. Obviously I don’t know all mega-churches so any criticism isn’t going to apply to every one of them.

Here’s what I think.

1: Is the “pastor” truly the pastor of the church? Or is he CEO, delegating all pastoral responsibilities other than preaching? Can the average church member see the pastor personally?
2: What is the polity of the church? Does the average church member have any authority over the decisions of the church? Does the average church member even know the salaries and benefits package of the pastor?
3. If God blesses the church, why not split instead of grow to mega proportions? Whether it is a fair criticism or not, mega-churches are a display of wealth and opulence. I think this sends a message, intended or not.

I realize this is tilting at windmills. The SBC is historically and firmly ruled by megachurch personalities, fine people though they might be. That’s unlikely to change.

August 26, 2017 7:41 am

Bill Mac

I realize that large doesn’t necessarily = mega.

August 26, 2017 7:43 am

Matt Marshall

I am inclined to agree with you. I am careful about generalizing churches because I believe firmly that we should seek to judge each church fairly by its fruits.

During my life, I have been an active member of two mega-churches – i.e. 10,000+ members in size. Both churches held these things in common:

1. The senior pastor overtly and frequently advertised that they only ministered to the other ministers – who, in turn, ministered to the laity – thereby creating a rigid hierarchy which inhibited direct contact with the senior minister.

In one of the churches, this structure became a real issue because no one had the authority or desire to confront him when he (hopefully unconsciously) misconstrued Scripture to advocate for a new ministry. (Basically, he advocated for a new multi-million dollar add on to the church and stated in his sermons that those who did not financially support that plan were acting against God’s will.)

2. Both seemed to trivialize the title pastor. I do not wish to engage on the subject in depth for I am aware that it will potentially open a huge of can of worms, leading to an unproductive conversation. However, calling the person who runs the audio-visual equipment (and serves no other function) the Media “Minister” is a bit of stretch.

3. In keeping with #2, they had at least 20+ ministers on staff whose actual contributions to ministry were difficult for the average member to perceive and whose daily responsibilities were never disclosed in detail.

4. Everything felt money centered. Most of the sermons that I recall from both churches were focused on tithing to support enormous projects and elaborate events – some of which I could not attend because I literally could not afford the ticket price for the event as a seminary student.

For these reasons, I eventually gained a wariness toward mega-churches (which I distinguish as different than “large” churches). That does not mean that I discount the authentic fruits of ministry that are reaped by mega-churches.

Rather, I consider my experiences noted above as simply struggles which are more prone to occur in mega-churches – just as smaller congregations are potentially more vulnerable to other issues such as power struggles between an influential family within the congregation and the minister seeking to shepherd the congregation as a whole.

August 26, 2017 3:19 pm

Jess Alford

I think the definition varies when it comes to what is a large church or a small one. The reason I said the definition varies depends on how rural a church maybe. Also, I think we have to take into account particular parts of a state. For example, where I’m from a church with 50 people or less is a small church, 50 to 100 people is a medium church, and over a 100 people is a large church. A large church where I’m from would be considered small to churches in other locations.